Tomorrow Will Be Kinder
by SlightlySloom
Summary: It's the last day of camp, and the campers all have mixed reactions. But a certain camper just wants to sit back and reminiscence of his previous years there... Summary Written By : TheUnitedWritersVXN This is Dadvid. Max/vid shippers, STAY AWAY!
1. I - The Last Night

The last day of camp. David had mixed emotions.  
Everyone seemed to have something come out of them.

Gwen was relieved.

David was sad.

Nikki was more adventurous than usual.

Neil seemed excited for AC.

Ered seemed more cool.

Nurf was more of an asshole.

Nerris had more charisma!

Harrison seemed more ambitious, focusing more on his magic.

Preston was just yelling even more.

Space Kid was just... being Space Kid.

But Max... David expected him to be more of a jerk. More... 'asshole' than usual.  
But he was just...

Quiet.

Too quiet.

His normal, snarky comments couldn't be heard.

That's when night rolled around. They had one last campfire together and passed around David's guitar. Each camper tried to sing and play but all failed miserably. Max was last. He silently took the guitar, strummed a few notes, then started playing what everyone else had.

The Camp Campbell theme song.

But he avoided all the high notes.

" _Oh..._  
 _There's a place I know that's tucked away!_  
 _A place where you and I can stay._  
 _Where we can go to laugh and play,_  
 _and have adventures every day!_

 _I know it sounds hard to believe but guys and gals it's true!_  
 _Camp Campbell is the place for me and you!_

 _We'll swim through lakes and climb up trees,_  
 _catch fish, bugs, bears, and honeybees!_  
 _There's endless possibilities,_  
 _and no that's not hyperbole!_

 _Our motto's Campe Diem and that means I'm telling you..._  
 _We've got:_  
 _archery_  
 _hiking_  
 _search and rescue_  
 _biking_  
 _horseback_  
 _training that'll save you from a heart attack_  
 _scuba diving_  
 _miming_  
 _keeping up with rhyming_  
 _football_  
 _limbo_  
 _science_  
 _stunting_  
 _pre-calc_  
 _spaceships_  
 _treasure hunting_  
 _bomb defusal_  
 _no refusal_  
 _fantasies_  
 _circus trapeze_  
 _and fights_  
 _and ghosts_  
 _and paints_  
 _and snakes_  
 _and knives_  
 _and chess_  
 _and dance_  
 _and weights_  
 _it's Camp Camp!"_

He finished the song, then went stone-faced, fear the only decipherable emotion.

He quickly dropped the guitar and sprinted towards the tent, zipping everyone out.

That's when he had a panic attack.

Gwen followed him and managed to unzip the tent.

Max was on his cot, freaking out, knees locked into his chest.

His breathing was in weird, short patterns. Gwen looked at the small ten-year-old and tried to comfort him.

She reached toward him.

He quickly backed away and tried to shield his face with his own arms.

"It's okay Max... you're fine." He slowly moved his arms out of the way. "Relax..." Gwen's words slightly calmed him.

"Deep breaths, Max." His breathing patterns slowly became more normal.

"i'm sorry... i won't do it again..." Max's voice was quiet. "Do what again?" Gwen responded.

"play..." Max's voice was barely above a whisper.

 _Oh... OH..._ Gwen thought.

Max walked back with Gwen.

"WHAT HAPPENED?!" Nikki screamed. Although he had gone through her constant yelling for no reason, he flinched for a second.

"THIS lil' fucker had a panic attack!" Gwen told the whole camp. Max looked up at her, "Fuck you, Gwen."

The parents started coming. Neil and Nikki left first, Ered left next, and soon everyone had gone.

Everyone but Max. This was slightly normal, his parents were always late. David knew that they would come eventually.

But they never came.

Max had left for the tent by midnight, then began to walk over to the lake, something in hand.

David could hear the soft, calm notes from across the camp.

 _Ukulele..._ he decided.

David grabbed his guitar and made his way to the lake, and saw Max playing the uke to a tune that seemed very familiar to David.

Then he remembered that night.

It was Max's first year of Camp Campbell, when he started to catch wind of what reality was really like.

 _There was a soft knock on the door to the counselor cabin._

 _David walked over and opened the door. He looked down to see Max, head down, shaking uncontrollably._

 _"Yes, Max?" Max had continued to stare at the ground before he spoke up._

 _"Can... Can you play something for me?"_

 _"Of course."_

 _He began the soft tune._

 _"Black clouds are behind me, I now can see ahead_

 _Often I wonder why I try hoping for an end_

 _Sorrow weighs my shoulders down_

 _And trouble haunts my mind_

 _But I know the present will not last_

 _And tomorrow will be kinder_

 _Tomorrow will be kinder_

 _It's true, I've seen it before_

 _A brighter day is coming my way_

 _Yes, tomorrow will be kinder_

 _Today I've cried a many tear_

 _And pain is in my heart_

 _Around me lies a somber scene_

 _I don't know where to start_

 _But I feel warmth on my skin_

 _The stars have all aligned_

 _The wind has blown, but now I know_

 _That tomorrow will be kinder_

 _Tomorrow will be kinder_

 _I know, I've seen it before_

 _A brighter day is coming my way_

 _Yes, tomorrow will be kinder_

 _A brighter day is coming my way_

 _Yes, tomorrow will be kinder..."_

 _The guitar's notes faded out, and Max had fallen asleep on David's warm bed._

That night...

Had Max remembered it?  
Held it close?

It hadn't mattered.

David needed to make a phone call to Max's parents.

 **NOW.**

Notes: The song David sings is "Tomorrow Will Be Kinder" by The Secret Sisters.


	2. II - Three Numbers

David dialed the one of the three numbers on the sheet.

 _Ring... Ring..._

 _"Hello? Who is this?"_

"Hello, I'm a counselor at Camp Campbell. A child, Max, is still here, yet to be picked up and this was a number on the sheet."

 _"I'm sorry to hear that. His parents must of written down the wrong number."_

"Oh. Sorry to bother you!"

David moved to the next number.

 _Ring... Ring... Ring..._

 _Your call has been forwarded to an automatic voicemail..._

After countless times, David called for the last time before he would move to the third.

 _Ring... Ring... Ring..._

 _"Hello."_

"Oh, thank god, you picked up!"

 _"I can't reach the phone right now..."_

David hung up. He looked at the last number on the page. But he recognized it...  
This was the number for CPS.

Did Max's parents want to get rid of him that badly?  
David finally realized that the ukulele had stopped. Max was looking back at him, frozen in fear, shielding his face.  
God, what did his parents _DO_ to him?


	3. III - Of Course

Max was shielding his face. David couldn't understand what happened.

Gwen knew fully. Once she had heard the ukulele stop playing, she quickly ran to the place the sound came from.  
She walked in on Max shielding his face and shrinking in terror, and David freaking out not knowing what to do. Gwen walked over to Max and sat next to him. The small boy looked at Gwen but still shielded his face from David.

"Shh... You're safe. Playing instruments isn't wrong, no matter how many times your parents have told you." Gwen soothed. Max looked further into her eyes, and said, voice shaky, "But my playing is shit."

Gwen looked at him. "Quite the opposite. Although you might be shit sometimes, your playing is wonderful."

Max knew Gwen was right. He slowly lowered his arms. David looked shocked that Gwen, normally the one to fight fire with fire, had calmed him down.

"Max..." David spoke quietly. "I called the numbers... The first one was wrong, the second one won't pick up, and the third one was..." There was a lump in David's throat. "What?" Gwen quietly asked. David looked at the ground, speaking up, " The third one was Child Protective Services."

Max didn't seemed very shocked by this. David spoke again, "Max, I want you to take your hoodie off." Max didn't say a thing, but hesitantly obeyed. On his arms were scars, burns, and fading bruises. He looked malnourished! David was even more shocked by what had come next. Gwen looked at the small ten-year-old and immediately took out her phone. "I'm calling CPS!" Max looked terrified, but Gwen added on to the previous sentence. "David, you have the correct papers to take care of a child, correct?" David spoke up, "Y-Yes..." Gwen looked back at him. "Well this little shit can be adopted by you if he wants to be!"

David looked concerned. "Do you want to?" It took a while for Max to answer. He was fiddling with his fingers, trying to make up his mind. What he was thinking was indecisive.

"O-Of course."


	4. IV - I Promise

Just as Max had made up his mind, a sleek, black car pulled up. A man and woman walked out, and glared at Max menacingly. They seemed cold. Max was acting in a way he never had. "Maxwell, we are leaving." The man's stern voice broke through the eery silence. Max silently looked down and obeyed, something he had never done before.

"I hope you were able to put up with our little piece of shit." The woman's voice was strict and stern, a voice that shouldn't belong to a parent.

Before you could say 'Campe Diem', the car had drove off. Max didn't show up next year. On the bus, everyone seemed to notice the hateful face being nowhere to be seen. Nurf had said, "Aw, he's the only one I kind of liked! He was more of a dick than me!" Nikki and Neil, the now siblings, seemed to notice first. They all had high hopes that he would come in the middle of the summer.

But he never came.

He was put into an orphanage because nobody wanted to foster the demon child.

One day in late-Spring, David had wanted to adopt someone. He walked to an orphanage near his home and went inside. He met the desk lady, her name was Shannon, and she let him to the children's area. From there, he could faintly hear the soft strumming of a ukulele from a room with one occupant.

He opened the door and couldn't believe what he was seeing.

Max was sitting on a chair, softly strumming a ukulele. Shannon seemed to see David, and followed him in. "That one? Oh, he came from a rough household. Thing is, he's kind of a demon spawn. His name is Ma-" Shannon was cut off by David. "I'll take him."

After the process, Max was in David's car.

"Now I'm your problem, fucking moron." Max said to David. David didn't look down, he just said, "Oh, come on! I know this'll be fun! It's too late to enroll you in a school, so you just won't need to go! Simple as that. This won't be like camp, I promise."

"And you promise you won't hit me?" David seemed shocked by what Max had said, but responded, "I promise."


	5. V - I SAID DAVID!

The first day of summer rolled around. David would have to leave for Camp Campbell pretty soon, and Max would have to come along. Max had of course gotten black and bitter coffee, like any other day, and David had gotten a sweet lemon tea.

They left pretty quickly, at around 10:00 AM.

Neil and Nikki were both losing hope that Max would ever come again, but all the other campers didn't care anymore. Max was already at the camp, reluctantly setting up tents. He finished by 10:30, and walked to the Mess Hall to see if Gwen and David were having any trouble with the tables.

He walked in on Gwen trying to flip the tables, David trying to do the original task of setting them up, and the Quartermaster was trying to steal food. "The fuck? And I thought I was the chaotic one." Max responded to the mess. "Why the fuck is Gwen even trying to flip the tables?" Gwen looked at him, "STRESS!"

After about an hour, they finally got everything set just as the campers started arriving.

Max was laying on his cot, groaning, thinking of all the scenarios that could happen. Max's parents hadn't gone to jail, they had just kicked him out. If they came back, UUUUUGGGHH. His thoughts were interrupted by the unzipping of the tent. Neil walked in, Nikki close behind. "Hey, Max, David said you actually came this year and pointed in the direction. So, to the point-" Neil said in his normal, wavering tone. Thing is, his voice was SLIGHTLY deeper, not very much, though.

Didn't seem like there was much puberty could do! Neil's voice was too high.

"WHERE WERE YOU! We made a pact that we would all be here for the next session and YOU DIDN'T SHOW!" Nikki interrupted Neil.

"Can we not talk about this subject?" Max responded. "NO!" Nikki basically howled. "I honestly don't WANT to talk about it. Fuck off." Max reinforced his first statement.

"Fine. We'll drop it. But you need to give us answers eventually," Neil commented.

"Nope," Max said almost like Ruby Rose. "Wha-?" Neil said. "Nope," Max repeated. "I'm going to go now." He walked to a spot by the lake, a spot that he and David arranged for a certain purpose. He took out a ukulele that was lodged and hidden in a tree's hollow.

David was sitting on a log with his guitar. "Are you ready?"

"Yep."

David strummed a few notes, and Max tuned his ukulele to match David's guitar.

David started playing a tune, and Max caught up on the pattern. "Like we practiced," David mused calmly, than began to sing.

"Lost an innocence,

Take this fragile heart,

We know where we've been,

All these miles together..." Max.

"Fall into my skin,

Crash into these arms,

We know where this ends,

Fade into forever..." David.

"The road is wild, we're holding on for life

Like a child who's not afraid to cry

We were escaping to a place we'll never know

Just you and me, love

We are almost home." David and Max.

"Lost inside your eyes

Those brilliant, dazzled stars

Show me every side

The good, the bad, the better..." Max.

"The road is wild, we're holding on for life

Like a child who's not afraid to cry

We were escaping to a place we'll never know

Just you and me, love

We are almost home." David and Max

"Promise you, I'll be

The promise you can't keep

'Til the end of time

And on the other side..." David.

"The road is wild, we're holding on for life

Like a child who's not afraid to cry

We were escaping to a place we'll never know

Just you and me, love

Just you and me, love

Just you and me, love

We are almost home..." David and Max.

The soft and soothing notes faded out, and the calm silence was broken by David's words, "You've gotten better." For the first time in a while, Max smiled. "Thanks, Dad." He said, matching the calmness of David's voice. Then David got super sentimental. "You called me Dad!" Max realized what he said and and tried to correct himself. "No, I said Dadvid. DAVID! I mean I said David! FUCK!" Max quickly put the ukulele in the tree he pulled it out from and made his way to his shared tent.


	6. VI - Night Terrors

Once Max made it back to his tent, Nikki and Neil had already fallen asleep. Max laid down on his cot and stared to sleep.  
A nightmare immediately came to him the moment his heavy eyelids dropped.

 _"I'm sorry... I didn't mean to..." He was letting out soft wails. "You were a mistake, boy." His father spoke to him with a cold face, and his mother wrinkled her face in disgust. Max had accidentally broke a bottle of vodka. Very expensive vodka, to be exact._

 _Soft wails, that's all he heard as a strong belt whipped down with brute force._

 _The only thing he could hear was his blood pounding in his ears and the harsh words he told himself.  
'Nobody cares... Worthless shit... Nothing but a bother... If you died,'_

 _'No one would know you were gone... and nobody would care.'_

Max remembered more of those abusive nights. more harsh thoughts crawled into his head...  
 _'No talent... The only reasons people care is to show pity. Worthless... Worthless... Worthless..._ Then a little, tiny voice would fight against them. _"Wrong... Get out of my head... People care... You are worth something..."_

But that voice would always lose the fight.

Before Max knew it, he started crying. He walked to David's cabin, but debated knocking. _This is David. You've gone to him for this reason multiple times. He won't bite._ Max told himself, knowing it was true. He knocked on the door.  
David opened after a few seconds, then responded, "Yes, Max?" Max looked up at him. "I had more night terrors... Can I-?"

"Of course." David responded.

Max walked into the cabin and laid on David's soft, warm bed. David joined after closing the door, and Max immediately cuddled up against him, clutching Mr. Honeynuts with a tight grasp. "Main tumase pyaar karata hoon. (मैं तुमसे प्यार करता हूँ.)" Max said softly, and David had heard it enough to know that it meant 'I love you', and Max was just resorting to his native language.

David looked back at Max and said quietly, "I love you, too. Good night."


	7. VII - I CAN'T SWIM!

Swimming. Max always hated that camp. As always, he snuck away and into his tent. But today, David wasn't having it. He walked into Max's tent and told him to join them. Of course, Max told him off.

"Max, why don't you like swimming?" Max responded to David with something to quiet to be heard. "Can you repeat that?" Max looked right into David's eyes, a glare that just makes you tingle. "Because I can't fucking do it, David. I can't swim. Are you happy now?"  
Max responded.

"Why didn't you tell me this before?"

"Because I didn't want to. Fuck off." David looked at Max inquisitively. do you want to be in AC at least?" Max looked up at David, responding with, "Yes. I am going to your cabin and I will listen to my musicals! Goodbye."  
David was shocked by the blatant response, but just said, "Okay, Max.", as Max walked away.

Notes: Hi! i am so sorry on how short this chapter was. I just don't really have much to go off of here. More or less, I hope you at least enjoyed it. Chapter 8 will be a big one, so I guess I just wanted a bit of calm before the storm.  
This explains how I always feel: How-would-you-explain-the-life-of-a-writer


	8. VIII - HOLY SHIT THIS TOOK A WHILE

Notes: Sorry for taking a while to finish this! I hope it was worth the wait.

Ah, Today. David wanted to do an 'Everything Camp' that day, and EVERYONE had to participate in their camp whether they wanted to or not.  
Everyone had forgotten about the 'incident' two years ago on the last day of camp, but Max didn't want to show them all again!  
He did not want to do this.

But of course, he had to. Preston was actually putting on a song from Hamilton, Guns & Ships.  
Here are the characters: Preston - Washington | Nurf - Burr | Lafayette - Max. (He's the only one that knows how to rap.)  
Every other camper did background voices.

Harrison showed off illusions, and could kind of bring things back now!

Neil just mixed chemistry substances.

Nikki showed off knot-tying.

And everyone else would do their things.

Max was playing the ukulele and in NO WAY was he ready for this. He still didn't know what song to do. He could play almost any string instrument, maybe he should do violin? No, the camp's violins were shitty. What song should he do? Wait!

Then it clicked.

'Lean' is a really good song, maybe he should do that one!  
No, what if no one likes it?  
Everyone else had gotten their things in order way before the show. Now, the show would start in ten minutes and Max still had no idea what to do.

But he had to go out for Preston's play. He was literally the only one who could rap in the whole camp.

Unsurprisingly, it was one of Preston's BEST acts yet. (I don't ship Max with Preston, or Max with anyone, for the matter. Change my mind. No seriously, PLEASE change my mind.)

Nikki's knot tying was... all over the place... Neil nailed his activity, like always.

Everyone else did okay. Then it was Max's turn. He still had no idea what to do, but last minute, he just thought,  
 _Fuck it. Violin is really my only option, maybe something like 'Shatter Me'? Yeah, Screw it._  
And walked out to the stage, violin David had got him in hand.

He carefully lifted the bow and began to play, but didn't sing. He memorized the music, but not the lyrics.

...

He finished.

...

Everyone was silent except for David, clapping loudly.

...

Max could only hear the pounding in his ears as he dashed off. He forgot to zip everyone out of the tent, so David, of course, rushed in.  
"Hey, Max." He said in a comforting way. "I know you're still not used to playing in front of people, but..." He trailed off, before recollecting himself.  
"We won't hit you if you play wrong, okay? We're not your old parents."

Max looked up at David. "Thanks, Dad." David didn't get sentimental this time, he just quietly said,  
"Yeah, speaking of that, when are you planning on telling them?"

"Someday."

David smiled at him and left the tent after tucking Max in, then went back to congratulate the campers.  
"Where's Max?" Some of the campers asked. David responded with, "Oh! Max was tired, so he decided to sleep early."

The next morning came. Max immediately made coffee.

He was bombarded with questions, all of which he answered vaguely.

"Were you REALLY tired?"

"Yes."

"Why did you go to bed early?"

"Because."

"Why did you freak out on stage?"

"No."

That night, Max didn't get any sleep, but he didn't give two shits. He went on one of his walks and sat on the dock, looking out into Lake Lilac. If he jumped, he could-  
 _No.  
_ He cut off the thought before it could fully process.  
He heard soft footsteps behind him.

There stood Harrison, standing tall, staring at the ground and clutching his wrist.

"Harrison?" Max looked up at the looming figure, still kind of salty that he was still so fucking short from his neglectful parents failing to feed him normal rations.  
Harrison looked and Max and sat down, staring at the black water. Max looked at him quizzically, and then Harrison softly spoke up, "My parents called today..." His voice was shaky and it looked like he was moments away from crying. Max responded with, "What did they say?" With a pang of sympathy in his voice, but it didn't sound like pity.

"They said,"-sniffle-"They said they didn't want me anymore."

Max looked down at the water with Harrison, responding with, "I know the feeling." Harrison looked over to him. "But they didn't aband-" He was cut off by Max, who quietly said, "They did." Harrison spoke again, "But they dropped you off, didn't they?" Max looked at Harrison, tears pricking his eyes, but a smile lingering. "No. God, I'm a fucking mess... I don't know if I should-" Harrison cut him off. "Tell me. We're both got something in common, so just tell me."

Max mustered up the courage and said it. "David adopted me."

Silence. One long minute of silence. Max couldn't stop thinking:  
 _I fucked up... I fucked shit up... Worthle-_

"...Do you think he could adopt me, too?"

 _The very next day..._

Max was sitting at his normal table, constantly stabbing it with a knife he had been sharpening over the years. It was a normal morning, no more, no less. That's when David walked over to him and took his hand in a comforting way, walking him over to his cabin where Harrison was sitting. He seemed... Slightly happier.

Max took a seat by David who smiled widely. No one spoke for a moment, and David's smile faltered as he began to speak, saying, "Harrison, You said your parents didn't want you anymore, no?"

"Yes."

"Alright. If they fail to come at the end of summer, I'll try to get custody. If they do come, we can talk it out. Sound good?"

"Yes."

They both walked right back to the Mess Hall and sat down where they normally sit. On opposite sides of the room.  
"So, why did David pull you over there?" Nikki and Neil kept asking.  
"None of your fucking business."

The rest of the day was activities, most of which Max ignored. The atmosphere kept getting slightly ominous though, a creeping feeling of terror lurking in the shadows of the trees...

Perhaps all will be revealed in time.


	9. IX - Fuckin' Daniel

One cloudy day, everyone was eating breakfast in the Mess Hall when Gwen and David's phone buzz. Gwen doesn't pay any mind to it, but David takes it out and reads what's on the screen. " **CULT LEADER ESCAPED PRISON AFTER BEING BROUGHT THERE FROM A HOSPITAL - STAY INDOORS AND DO NOT GO OUTSIDE. LOCK ALL DOORS AND WINDOWS.** "

David looked at Gwen and she confirmed his suspicions.

Max walked over to them and said, "What the fuck is going on?"

"Daniel's back," David responded quietly.  
"FUCK NO." Max slammed his fist on the table.

Gwen looked at him right in the eye and said, "FUCK YES."

In their ignorance, they forgot to lock the doors. (Fucking idiots.)

As if on cue, the door slowly creaked open...

"Fuck."

In a few hours, Daniel had managed to 'purify' everyone except Max and the counselors.  
"Oh my fucking god. What the fuck is wrong with you?!"

To that, Daniel responded, "I _will_ leave... IF one of you beats me in a violin battle. No other instruments. If I win, I purify every last one of you and we ascend."

And, of course, Max was only one that could play the violin, so...

"I'll get the fucking violin."

He got the violin and took it to the spot. David and Gwen seemed terrified right now, and Max took a deep breath, terrified to play. David started with a cold, dark tune that made you think of shadows filling up the room, the last light slowly burning out. Max cut him off in the middle and then began to play a rather... complicated tune.

It made you think of the damp smell and feel of the rain while you were safely inside, watching the droplets fall.

Daniel seemed defeated by this, and cut in at the end, starting a tune sharp and troublesome, like fire without any water to put it out, to which Max responded with a song by Lindsey Sterling called 'Moon Trance'.

Daniel obviously was taken by surprise, then looked at Max and thought, _Oh, wait. He's the smart one._

Daniel looked down at Max once he had finished, but didn't continue the tune. Max was... shockingly intimidating for a shortass twelve-year-old.

So... Daniel just kinda gave up. These children didn't want to reach ascension, their loss. Too bad the two other camps had protective gates...  
Oh well. He would just have to find another one. Daniel left the camp, and Max was panting.

He looked at David. "So... How the fuck did you fix 'em two years ago?"


	10. X - No Words Can Describe This Chapter

Yesterday was... exhausting.

Max slept with David last night because he honestly did not want to be in a tent full of people that were just unbrainwashed.  
At least the bed was warm and cozy as fuck.

When he woke up, he immediately walked to the Mess Hall and made himself coffee, but he had to wake up with David because they were in the same bed, so that meant waking up at 4:00 AM (The time I wake every morning. I HAVE INSOMNIA WHY MUST I DO THIS TO MYSELF) and walking around the entire camp before going to the Mess Hall for about an hour, waiting for the clock to strike 7:00 AM. Max tried sawing into Nurf's usual spot so his weight would collapse it. He sat back on the bench, made himself another cup of coffee, and waited until... Gwen woke up.

She walked into the Mess Hall and asked, "David?" Max responded with, "David." She sighed. "Alright. We had to get up at around 5:00 AM, so do they. Get the electric guitars." Max nodded his head. "On it."

Once he got the guitars, he handed one to Gwen and looked at her. She nodded her head.

The guitars made a sound so loud that the whole camp woke up. When the rest of the Terror Trio (I saw this name on the internet and loved it) came out, Neil screamed, "WHAT THE FUCK? IT'S 5:00 AM." Nikki just looked at the ground and said, "I'm tired." Max smirked and walked into the Mess Hall. Gwen followed behind, taking both electric guitars and putting them in the Quartermaster's Store.

When David came back from his walk, he noticed that all the campers were up. That's when Nurf sat down...

CRACK

He immediately got up and yelled, "OKAY! WHICH ONE OF YOU ASSHATS DID THIS?"

Max was dying. Gwen immediately knew who the 'asshat' was. Seems like Nurf did, too.  
The next morning, Nurf tried the same thing. Max sat where he did it, but nothing happened to the seat. Nurf stood up once he noticed and yelled, "WHAT? HOW ARE YOU NOT AFFECTED BY IT?" Max stared at him. "You tried the same shit, didn't you?" Nurf yelled, "YEAH!" And then threw Max off the seat effortlessly and putting Neil on the spot. It snapped in two. He tried the same with Nikki's spot.

He got the same outcome as Neil's.

"HOW?" As Nurf's outrage continued, David pulled Max outside. Once they were out of hearing range, David looked at Max and said, "Something tells me that you haven't been eating the normal amount." Max looked at David, "You want a fucking medal or something?" David looked worried, "Max, you're still fairly underweight. You need to eat the right rations." Max looked at the ground. "It's not my fault that it's most of what I've known. Also, the camp's food is shitty."

David responded with, "C'mon, Max. There's only one week left."

"Fine. I'll try," Max said.

"Thank you, Max." David smiled and walked inside with Max. Gwen led the morning activities while David fixed the table, and Max stayed around to help. This was his fault for the most part, anyway. Once it was finished, it was noon. David took a few things from the pantry. "What the hell are you doing?"

"Since you missed the camp activities, we're going on a hike." David responded to Max's question.


	11. XI - I Need More Roman Numerals

Once David finished prepping, he thought it was a good idea to make the entire camp go. _Great._

"Why, of all days, did we have to take a HIKE during HEAT WAVE, on the HOTTEST DAY OF SUMMER!" Neil complained, with Max's snarky reply of, "At least you're not wearing a fucking hoodie and pants." Nikki was running ahead of the group and whooping. As they continued the hike, it seemed like the day kept getting hotter and hotter.

Max was sweating balls by now and everyone else was just kind of tired.  
That's when black spots started appearing in Max's vision.

He kept continuing, but after a while, the nausea was too much and he passed out.

David needed to take off the hoodie, but he knew what was under it. He told Gwen to keep continuing the trail and to make sure that none of the campers looked at Max while David removed his hoodie, revealing all of the scars and burns Max had gotten while living with his old parents, and David started running back to the cabin with Max in his arms.

Once the rest of the campers returned from the hike, Max had woken up. He looked at his dad, although he didn't like referring to David as that. It had never been a... positive term for him. While he was recovering from the heatstroke, some people came in to visit him, so he had to cover his arms.

He was fully recovered by dinner, and there was now a few days until camp was over.


	12. XII - Flashback

It was the beginning of Winter break. Nikki was coming home from school and walked in on her mom wrestling with some guy. She yelled, "WOO! TAKE 'EM DOWN, MA!"

She went out into the backyard, and heard a very angry voice from her neighbor's house. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING, YOU SHITS!" A woman was crying, pleading to the gruff man. "Please! Don't hurt him! STOP! NO!" The man's voice returned."Oh, that hurts you? WHAT ABOUT THIS?!" The woman screamed in pain, then screamed,

"RUN! GO! DON'T COME BACK!"

Nikki went up to the front yard and saw a blue hoodie sprinting down the sidewalk before her mother came out and brought her inside.


	13. XIII - Tea

Nikki woke up with a start from the nightmare, but then realized that it was a flashback.

"Woooaaah. Am I in a movie?" Neil tiredly rose up, stared at her, and asked, "What?" Max rubbed his eyes. "What the fuck are you two doing? I want to salvage the time we have to SLEEP, so why the hell did you two wake me up before 7:00?"

"But we weren't even talking that loud." Nikki responded. "Eh. Light sleeper. I'm going to go steal some chamomile tea from the pantry so I can sleep for the THREE HOURS I have." Max left the tent.  
"What is chameleon tea do?" Neil practically face palmed at what Nikki said.

"It's chamomile, and I think it helps with sleep."

"But how did Max know that?" Nikki asked, receiving a shrug from Neil.

Max walked into the mess hall and saw David looking through the cabinets. "What the fuck are you doing?"  
David turned around. "Oh! Max! I was just looking for green tea so I can stay awake. Why are you up?" Max rubbed his eyes.  
"Nikki and Neil woke me up. Do you see any chamomile tea in there?"

David perked up. "Oh! Yeah. Here." David handed Max a packet and helped him boil it.

"I'm going to sleep now."

"Good night, Max."

Max walked in the tent, and by the time he was tired enough after drinking the tea, jumped face-first on his cot a fell asleep.  
Three hours later, David didn't come around. It took two hours for Gwen to wake everyone up, and once everyone was out of their tents, Gwen turned to Max and asked, "Did David make you bring any medicine?"

"Yeah." Max replied. "Well, can you get it? David's sick." Gwen told him.

"Fine." Max walked into the tent, grabbed some medicine, and gave it to Gwen. "Thanks."  
Everyone walked into the Mess Hall for the slop that they always got.

Max drank his black coffee. Everyone smelled something terrible, and reacted to it. Except Max. "Why aren't you plugging your nose?" Neil asked. Max looked at him and said, "What?" Neil stared back. "Are all of us going insane, or do you just like the smell of barf?" Max shrugged. "I don't smell anything."

And, somehow, that closed the conversation.

A sick David tried to walk in, but was slowly ushered out by Gwen. "Go back to bed." she said.  
"I think you guys were smelling actual barf." Max told Nikki and Neil, who's faces immediately fell.

Max left the Mess Hall and walked to the lake where he could THINK. _One more day at this shit-stained camp. Even though I go home to something similar, still, at least it's not this fucking camp._ The rest of the day passed quickly, but the last was really slow. Mostly filled with tears and goodbyes. After mostly everyone left, it was only Harrison and Max.

A car pulled up. It was Harrison's parents. But they only showed up to hand David a filled adoption sheet and floor it right out of the camp grounds.


	14. XIV - Just Nail It Down

The next two years went off smoothly, save for finding out that Max couldn't really smell, figuring out that Harrison had actually magic powers, and Max finally getting average weight. Harrison started to cut his hair and instead of an actual tuxedo, put on a t-shirt that looked like a tux, and Max started to grow out his hair and leave his clothes remotely the same.

At age fifteen, they couldn't keep coming to camp.

Harrison decided to be a magician during summer and actually made some money off of it, while David pretty much forced Max to be a CIT. Some people at camp, Nikki and Neil, needed a job and went with it because they could bring their own food, while Preston came for theatre.

Preston signed, 'Preston Goodplay' in cursive, oblivious of the other people signing up. Nikki did the same in a messy handwriting in all capitals.. Neil looked at the counselors and saw, 'David Greenwood' and 'Gwendolyn Mayors' and knew that it hadn't changed. He wasn't surprised that his step-sister had signed up, and when he saw Preston's name, he groaned, sure. But when he saw Max's he was both surprised that he signed up, and surprised at the last name written after Maxwell.

Max's last name was Greenwood, like David. He looked closer and saw that it seemed to be written really carefully, then faded into a more careless writing. Neil took a deep breath, tried to forget it, then wrote, 'Neil Hanson', and walked away.

Eventually, the first day of camp came, and Gwen came over to David's house so they could get there at around the same time.

In Max's room, he was trying to put his hair in a bun, but he was way too tired for it and his hair was being unruly. "You know, this is the reason I cut my hair." Harrison said from the top bunk. "Fuck off, Harrison." Max responded. "Okay."

Gwen walked in to the room. "Hey Harrison. Hey Max."  
"Hi." Max said through clenched teeth. Gwen raised an eyebrow. "You need some help?" Max's eyes narrowed. "No, I don-" "Yes he does." Harrison interrupted.  
Gwen quickly took the hair tie and wrapped Max's hair into a bun effortlessly.

"Thanks you." Max said, insincerely.

"We have to go, so... Come on." Gwen told Max. "Bye, Harrison." Max told Harrison as he walked away.  
"Bye, Max!" Harrison responded.

They got there at the time the counselors were meant to come and started setting up. They mostly just checked how many campers there were and set up their camp areas. Max was assigned to setting up music camp, and finished fairly quickly. Neil, Nikki, and Preston showed up, and in order to set up one tent, they all had to do it together.

"This is so hard!" Nikki exclaimed, Neil nodding in agreement while Preston just said nothing.

"Guys, just nail down the fucking tent. I already finished the rest of them on my own." Max told them.

"Oh."


	15. XV - New Kids On The Block

So, apparently, Neil and Nikki had already signed up to share a tent, so Max was stuck with Preston. The set up a tent, and the campers started to arrive.

First was Michael, pretty much a younger version of Max who literally got thrown out of the car. He had on a yellow, long-sleeved shirt and wore long jeans and black shoes. His hair was short and flat, and he had these piercing, icy blue eyes. He was signed up for an unknown camp. The schemer.

Next was Nala, a girl that was obsessed with conspiracy theories and loved math, signed up for Filming Camp. She had Blonde hair is a braid, violet eyes, round glasses, and wore a jean jacket, yellow t-shirt, jean shorts, and gray shoes. The brains.

And then there was Blake. He was... Fairly stupid, and was signed up for School camp. He had black hair down to his shoulders, amber eyes, a yellow shirt, cargo shorts, and red shoes. The reckless.

Then there was..  
Nova (LARP)  
Jane (Music)  
Chloe (Drama) (Yes, I added me.)  
Gene (Behavioral Correction)  
Acacia (Sports)  
Reid (Gardening)  
Ryan (Art)

Right of the bat, Michael was and asshole. He stuck a middle finger at Max, and he sent one right back, replying with, "Don't group me in with those other bitches." Which kind of made Michael chuckle.

That night, Max had a dream.

Max remembered something in his dream, no, nightmare. The day his mother finally snapped from stern to watched in horror as his intoxicated father screamed at her and proceeded to do so for another year, adding beatings into the mix before she finally told Max to run away from the broken family.

And so he did.  
But then he saw the aftermath.

His mother was hospitalized, and when she got out, committed suicide. The awful cycle repeated again and again. He tried wake up, but he was trapped in his sleep. He couldn't breathe. Preston woke up, breathing perfectly fine.

But then realized that Max was not.


	16. Sorry!

So, I've decided to rewrite this fanfic, but on wattpad instead. I'm really sorry, but please, if you want to keep reading, then check it out. My username is ChloeOfStars.

I just feel like I rushed the story, so I'm going to start from the drawing board.  
That's all I want to say! I might still continue this in my free time, but this is essentially a draft.  
The ACTUAL one will be on wattpad.

Seeya!


	17. Help

So, should I continue this story or abandon it?


	18. Discontinuation and an Update

Okay, well, I have no idea how to explain this, but I don't really post here. Sorry for that. Also, to as a response to a recent review left by a Guest... I'm so sorry, but I decided on Maxpres a while ago and just haven't cleared that up. Wattpad is my main source and it is literally just dedicated to making characters suffer, pretty much. I'm so sorry for everything!


	19. Up for grabs

If anyone would like to take this story and continue it, it's up for grabs! Just credit me and leave the link in the reviews section.

(By the way, I will eventually continue this story, but I just want to see other people's interpretations. Also, I really want inspiration.)


	20. Rewrite

i just realized that a lot of people following this story probably dont know i rewrote it, so go check out the rewrite on my profile if you want to see it!


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